strahlend

The cup of life was poisoned forever; and although the sun shone upon me as upon the happy and gay of heart, I saw around me nothing but a dense and frightful darkness, penetrated by no light but the glimmer of two eyes that glared upon me. Sometimes they were the expressive eyes of Henry languishing in death, the dark orbs nearly covered by the lids, and the long black lashes that fringed them; sometimes it was the watery, clouded eyes of the monster as I first saw them in my chamber at Ingolstadt. A dense and frightful darkness: black musk, vetiver, myrrh, opoponax, hemp, crushed sage, oakmoss, and tobacco. First Sniff – wonderful black musk blend. Reminding me of Haunted. Skin Test – upon first application still reminding me a lot of Haunted – which leads me to ask the question, how is this different than Haunted? Maybe it's a little softer, I think maybe the tobacco and the myrrh together are giving this a little bit of a sweeter feeling with a very, very light soapy feeling. This is like Hunted's slightly more distinguished and elegant mother or grandmother. Just a hint of powderyness from the myrrh and maybe oakmoss. As it dries there's a bit of warm spice happening. This scent hangs on for quite a long time. At the mid point the resins really come out and it's musky and kind of resin-powdery. Late in the dry down I'm getting musky spice on my skin and it seems like it'll continue to hang on for a while. I feel pretty sure it's the oakmoss lingering. In the end it's the oakmoss that clings to the skin for an unexpectedly long time.

Dost thou wonder that I flew Charm’d to meet my Leila’s view? Dost thou wonder that I hung Raptur’d on my Leila’s tongue?— If her ghost’s funereal screech Thro’ the earth my grave should reach, On that voice I lov’d so well My transported ghost would dwell: If in death I can descry Where my Leila’s relics lie, Saher’s dust will flit away, There to join his Leila’s clay. - Abu Sahet Alhedhily Plum musk, ambergris accord, matcha tea, oakmoss, patchouli, violet leaf, and cypress. This scent went from dark, bitter wood to bright lemons in less than five minutes on my skin. My chemistry does seem to amplify anything remotely related to the lemon family, in this case I'm guessing it must be the matcha tea. In the end it smells like a mix of very gentle musk and lemon/verbena. Not at all what I expected from sniffing the decant!

THE GRAVE-PIG Fig, oakmoss, mushroom caps, and patchouli. I've been testing this out for a couple days now and I still can't really add much more than is in the initial description. I smell soft fig backed up by the most gentle patchouli with a lightly round sort of component that could well be the mushroom caps - I keep getting the feeling of currents although they aren't listed and I don't detect any oakmoss at all. This is a soft and gentle earthy scent. It doesn't feel heavy at all. If this scent were a color it might be a sort of walnut shell brown.

As you pass down Houston street, faro banks abound, till we reach an unpretending red brick building No. 25, kept by Frank Burns, known as the "Judge and Jury". This is a great resort for the sportsmen both of this and the other country. Everything here is conducted in a respectable and orderly manner. Bay rum, polished oak, exquisite pipe and cigar tobaccos, and a splash of bourbon. This is GORGEOUS! Tobacco is strong, sweet, and dominates this blend. The rum and bourbon are more subtle. The oak is providing a smooth and sophisticated base. This is tobacco lovers heaven. It smells like walking into a tobacco shop that has some really classy wooden furniture. It's very atmospheric but not overwhelming, at least not for me. The sweetness of the tobacco meshes into my skin and becomes an almost vanilla-tobacco-soft wood sort of skin scent. I think I'm going to try to secure another bottle or two before this one comes down. Reminds me of: Buggre Alle This Bible, Havana, Mahogany Hall atmo spray, Antikythera Mechanism

MIDNIGHT BELL Diabolical monastic incense and crumbling stone. This is a fascinating scent. More pungent than I had anticipated, very effectively evocative of stone walls, an old library or a deep cellar. At first the sharp resins are the most noticable, and after a little while it softens up and feels a bit more woodsy. This is perhaps the most unique scent I've come across - and I LOVE it. The feeling of this blend is dark, heavy and cool.

15- year aged patchouli, Egyptian cumin, white frankincense, labdanum, and bitter almond. In the bottle I detect a thick and syrupy patchouli (not the rooty, bitter kind), more than a hint of almond, and just a hint of the frankincense and even less cumin. On my skin the cumin charges straight to the front and center, backed up by a patchouli almond fusion. Cumin is an interesting spice, with the other sweet and resinous notes behind it I get more of a spice shop feeling rather than a savory or animalistic vibe. It takes about five minutes for the cumin to back down and for the patchouli almond resin hybrid to resume being the dominant notes in the blend. The cumin continues to maintain a presence, but the sweet patchouli mix does eventually beat it into submission. The longer the scent has to settle in the more atmospheric it becomes. It's the kind of scent that swirls around you and it's hard to pinpoint exactly what or where it's coming from. Late in the dry down it has become a soft, incensy, sweet and resinous dominantly patchouli blend. Not for the faint of heart, but a marvelous masterpiece for those who enjoy unusual patchouli experiences.

First sniff – dragon's blood and patchouli are what I smell first. I like it very much. Testing – I would think that there was a drop of ginger in here? I get a bit of the scorched oak, but just a hint to darken it up a bit, not overwhelming. Mostly a dark dirty patch and the dragon's blood that smells like it has a snap of ginger in it. Dries down to a nice sweet, if somewhat powdery, dragon's blood.

Testing – at first it's autumn leaves as featured in many other blends, but!!! on the skin that immediately burns off and I'm smelling the most gorgeous myrrh and smokey musky vanilla. This really is quite lovely. In the dry down I feel like I'm smelling a finish of oakmoss.

First sniff – very vanilla sweet with just a hint of the patch. Testing – On the skin this reads very much like Velvet Dogs Playing Poker Lite. Although, it is quite strong and might not be Lite at all. Thick and sweet with a syrupy patch and what might be oudh. I might guess that the smooth wood in VDPP is oudh and that Irish coffee is cousins with goat's milk accord w/ honey. If you would like to try Velvet Dogs and can't find it, this would be a very acceptable substitute.

When scents have this many listed notes I sometimes worry that it will be more of a cacophony than a wearable scent. Such is NOT the case with this scent. There is a very real, sweet, herbaceous, soft, green feel to this scent. No note in particular sticks out - it reminds me of a mild, leafy, green, sweet sort of scent that feels like a blend of lettuce leaf and sweet pea flowers. I would never pin this as a honey, bay rum, or myrrh scent. The whole really is an amazing effect. I would say that is it soothing, gently refreshing, and amazingly beautiful.

Buen Viage, Francisco de Goya. Tonka bean, red sandalwood, black pepper, vetiver, hiba wood, turmeric root, and Ceylon cinnamon. Sniffing from the decant – vetiver and pepper with a sandalwood backup. Skin testing – This is intense stuff. I'm still getting mainly pepper and vetiver, but I can tell there's something in here rounding it out a bit. This is starting to smell very familiar, but I can't put my finger on it. The sandalwood and tonka are trying to emerge, the more it mellows out the better it's getting. It seems like there's almost something fruity in here. I don't detect cinnamon (as I know it) at any point. Over time this scent has really grown on me. It's now reminding me of a Snake Pit type of scent. Silky, rich, smooth, vetiver and gently woody sandalwood, but so much more than that, things that don't seem to be accounted for by the note list. The scent swirls around me and I catch myself thinking 'what smells good?' then I realize it's me. This is one of those times when the dry down is absolutely worth the (relatively short) wait. I can tell this will cling to my skin overnight and I'll likely wake up with it in the morning.

First impression – vetiver and black pepper come through clearly. Skin testing – it is strong vetiver, but not as scary as it would seem in the decant. The bit of tobacco does sweeten it up and round it out. The cardamom is throwing me off, it just doesn't seem to fit with the other notes, unfortunately it has quite a presence in the blend, at least initially. After a few minutes the vetiver does come back and interwine with the cardamom, thankfully. It is now striking me as a spiced dry wood scent. It's bringing to mind things like understated aftershave and the inside of a cozy wood cabin. The vanilla and tobacco seem to be the base of this scent and they really come in and save the day. I wasn't even going to skin test this because it seemed so strong and plain in the decant, but it has developed into an unexpectedly delightful scent. This is why we always skin test, I should know by now. It's still not something I think I need a bottle of, but it is very different and much nicer than I thought.

First impression – this one is hard to pin down. It does kind of smell like lite patchouli and cherries, but the notes in the decant are rather elusive. Skin testing – warm and sweet patchouli. The resins are lending a bit of sharpness to the background. A few minutes later and something more astringent is coming forward, smells like vetiver, but must be the opoponax? A few minutes later and things are mellowing out again, but still predominantly the kind of astringent, sharp opoponax mixing with the dry patchouli. It's a dry patchouli without any the sweetness. And that seems to be where it sits in the late dry down, dry sharp resin with a bit of dry sharp patchouli.

First impression – like spilled sour wine in an old ashtray. Skin testing – initial impression plus the undercurrent of whiskey, which is actually an improvement. Whiskey, a splash of wine, and some additional red currents. Not as bad as I suspected. The ashtray does come back though. It seems like there are a wide variety of interpretations of this scent, it certainly is an interesting experience.

First impression – very much vanilla mint as in the “Lick It” series, but I'm guessing that this one really develops on the skin when the mint blast wares off. Skin testing – goes on smelling as described above. Vanilla mint lick it. After just a few minutes I think I'm getting the slightest hint of rosewood. It's really mild and adds an interesting dimension to the vanilla mint, a bit of depth. It is used very sparingly, and somehow bridges the sweetness of the vanilla and sharpness of the mint. Not a combination I would have expected to work. Something about the sweet/sour/ astringent of the rosewood combines with the sweet/mint/sharpness and brings it all together. In the dry down, the rosewood has merged into the vanilla mint, creating a whole new beast out of the whole lot. It's quite lovely and unusual. I can smell the roseyness of the rosewood in there, but the other notes have rendered it an interesting feature rather than the stage hog that it usually becomes. Far more prominent is a sort of sweet, woody, mint. I lump all the green notes in with mint because I'm sure that they are what is making this lovely green note come together and hold rather than fade away. Quite lovely. One of my two favorites from this series.

First impression – reminds me of other bog smells but without the putrid element. It's like a green oakmoss with a little bit of spice, I think the vetiver, cucumber, tomato leaf – those make sense for this sort of chlorophil juicy green notes. Interesting. Skin testing – goes on weird, but not unpleasant. Boy, this is a hands down winner for most unusual. I feel like little bits of all the notes show up here and there. There is a top that is a little bog gas unpleasant and a bottom that is holding it all together just barely. Not something I would call wearable. Ends up way late in the dry down being a sort of faintly green musk. For a while there though it almost made me feel sick to my stomach. An interesting sniffing experience, but not all together pleasant.

First impression – reminds me of the hay note in Gunpowder with a sweet and soapy aquatic note. My impulse is to love it, but I know that after a time this usually smells like cloying bathroom soap on my skin. There's also something just a little minty toothpaste in here. Skin testing – This smells as bad on my skin as I feared it would. It unfortunately reminds me of strongly scented toiletry products, like it's designed to cover unpleasant odors.

First impression – sort of medicinal and green, also a bit sour/astringent smelling. I think it's mostly the olive wood and juniper. Skin testing – a little bit of green, a little bit of vicks vapo rub, a little bit rooty, a little bit sour wood. Even when it mellows out a bit it still smells rooty and sickly green. The notes just clash in an unpleasant way. Mellows out a bit and sweetens up. The “blood” is coming up and saving this blend. It's still not good, but it's a lot better. There are probably at least 10 other "blood" blends that smell better than this, so it brings nothing necessary to my collection.

First impression – lots of almond. Skin testing – goes on smelling acrid, sharp, kind of unpleasant. Pungent patchouli, perhaps? After a few minutes it does start to calm down a bit, as is the way of our people. Still not an appealing scent. The bitter almond and black patchouli with the bitter cinnamon. It all combines into a pungent mess. No thank you.

First impression – vanilla sandalwood, as stated. Skin testing – super vanilla, but certainly not foody. I think I'm smelling mostly the cedar and sandalwood, which I like. A vanilla scent is never going to set my world on fire, but it's nice to smell a nice non-foody vanilla. It's rather light, I have to get my nose right there to be able to smell it. Fades off pretty quickly.

First impression – very much that cherry red musk that reminds me of head shops. Skin testing – same as in the decant. It's like a summertime red musk though because often times it is paired with heavier or spicier notes that make it seem rather thick. This is much lighter and more wearable. I'm not getting myrrh. Any brown musk and leather are soft and smooth. They do come forward after a few minutes, the musk and leather. But all together this still feels on the lighter side of musky leather blends and it is a welcome alternative to the super thick heavy blends those notes usually appear in. Pretty and nice. Much more on the incense side. Late in the dry down it's still a lovely incensey presence wafting around. Long lasting, but never overpowering, an unusual combination. One of my two favorites in this series.

Review of scent only: Lemongrass is the dominant scent. It combines with the lavender to create a sort of sweet and tart fragrance. (not sweet-tarts candy)

I can't even believe how good this smells. The whiskey is pure like in Mad Sweeney. The opium and candlesmoke give a soft, hazy, sweet base. Very atmospheric. The notes all blend together perfectly. Sultry and boozy. Exactly what I wanted!

Goes on sharp and green ivy and pine. Some sweetness comes in really quickly, I think from the dark musk. The musk and green notes immediately blend seamlessly together and smell like walking in the most fragrant, sweet, pure forest ever. I think it's either the black pine or birch tar that's reminding me of the pine sap note in Pickled Imp, also the pine pitch in Illustrated Woman. The ivy is sweet, reminding me of the english ivy note in The Black Tower. The dark musk is a great partner for these foresty green notes and the blend is beautifully cohesive. If you're a fan of dark musk and you like the pine sap and pine pitch notes in the blends I mentioned, I think you'll really like this. I'm not getting the pepper or a distinct impression of cedar. This might sound crazy, but later in the dry down it almost reminds me of Shalimar. Late in the dry down this is all black musk, all the time. Puts me in the mind of Haunted because it also has a dark musk and cologne vibe to it. This is gorgeous. Very glad to have a bottle!

When it's first applied I feel like I'm smelling the sharp bite of ginger. In just a few moments though the amber and vanilla are blending with the carnation beautifully. The spicy carnation is really coming forward and the vanilla and frankincense are providing a lovely sweet base. I don't usually care too much for lemongrass but here I think it's keeping the sweet notes from going over the top. Something in the carnation is reminding me of cinnamon without being cinnamon, if that makes any sense. Startled Toad has a lot more dimension to it than it might initially seem. The notes keep playing with each other in different ways and all of the stages are delightful.